I am Thankful for My Son, the Missionary...

Today we traveled 60 miles north to Bonners Ferry to attend my brother-in-law's ward. His son, Matt, just returned from his mission, the fourth of five sons (plus one daughter) to have served. Their 5th and youngest son, Kurt, is getting ready to leave for his mission to Mexico, just south of Tucson, in about a month.

How does a family raise each and every one of their children to be faithful? Yes, I know they had, if not perfectly, but faithfully, family home evening, prayers, and all attended Seminary. Loving parents with patience and a warm home open to all their friends. They had all of the parts of the recipe for raising a good family. Many other LDS families do the same, but not all of the children turn out devoted to the Gospel like his have.

Elder Chad Carey, top row, right

This is all really about my son, Chad, who is currently serving a mission in Chile. I have to say, that from the time he was little, he was wired for goodness. He was always a very good baby. Easy to potty train. Always did his chores and helped out whenever he could. When he was only in the 6th grade, he was a kid that made a stand against a group of boys who were saying filthy things about girls, and was mocked and called names for it.

He was a kid who would rather have no friends than to be friends with kids who chose the wrong path. He of course was not perfect, but he always tried his best to do what's right.

I am thankful that I have a child like Chad, to let me clearly see that even if we parent our children as consistently one to the next as we can, that they will choose for themselves what path to take. That sometimes we are given children that will try our patience beyond belief, but we must stay tough and be true to the principles that we believe in.

Outside the MTC to attend the Prove Temple

This photo is precious to me. After choosing for all of his life to not follow the crowd, he was finally among young men such as himself who chose to follow the Savior, and serve him. It's a perfect picture of the crowd that we, as LDS mom's, would want our children to follow.

And while serving in Chile, he is a great example to his younger brothers and sisters. I can only hope and pray that they will want to follow his example. I hope and pray that they will see the goodness in him and follow the Lord like he has. I am thankful I was blessed with a son like Chad.

I am Thankful...

...for a country that allows us to vote for our President every four years, and doesn't make us wait any longer than that...
and for talented writers who come up with great stuff...

This is from an email I recently received:

You know what would really tee OFF the Democrats...
Bush should resign now.
Then Dick Cheney becomes President
(that would really tee OFF the libs)!!!
Then he appoints Condoleezza Rice as VP.
Then Cheney resigns two weeks later
and Condoleezza Rice, A Republican,
becomes the first BLACK / WOMAN President!!!

Love It!
(I think a Romney/Condoleezza ticket would have been UNBEATABLE!)

I am thankful for humor!

...and my family!
...and food!

Dishing up the feast! So much it wouldn't all fit on the table!

...and snow that doesn't stick until the day after Thanksgiving!

ABC Tag

OK - I was tagged again. It's a totally different one, so I hope it's not too boring...

A-Attached or Single: Attached
B-Best Friend(s): My family
C-Cake or Pie: Pumpkin pie
D-Day of Choice: Sunday - Less stress
E-Essential Item: Shoes with high-ish heels
F-Favorite Color: Clover green. Medium-light hued and gray-toned; not minty or pastel. Used to be the paint color of our main bathroom.
G-Greatest Accomplishment: Marriage and children. Not family related: Renovating a Huge Old House.
H-Hometown: Aloha, Oregon. Pronounced 'a-low-a' and not the way the Hawaiians do it
I-Indulgences: 2 hours alone in a bubble bath with a book.
J-January or July: July-It's warmer.
K-Kids: 4 sons, 3 daughters, ages 5 to 25. With just one husband!
L-Life is incomplete without: Books
M-My Favorite Food: Brownies. The gooeyer, the better, no nuts, powdered sugar on top. Yum!
N-Number of Siblings: Five brothers, no sisters. Very often when I see any one of my brothers, they always ask "so how's my favorite sister?" Ha!
O-Oranges or Apples: Oranges. Sliced, not peeled
P-Phobias: it's not really a phobia; I just prefer not being in small spaces. I will even leave the bathroom door open if no one is around.
Q-Quilts: I love to make them, and I only make them for the people I love
R-Reason to Smile: A son on a mission! Good Friends!
S-Season: I love summers in Oregon. Beautiful, and stays so green through most of the summer
T-Tag: Friends and Family: How about Starting Your Blog with this tag post! All of you who read this and don't have a blog yet, you are tagged! Also, all of my friends/bloggin' buddies: Kayla, Melissa, Candy, Laura, Andrea, Kathy, Amanda, Jade, Ginger, Jennifer, Dani, Michelle, and Mariann.
U-Unknown facts about me: The first movie I remember seeing is "The Wizard of Oz" (on TV) The first movie I saw in a theater was the re-release of "Gone With the Wind" when I was 14.
V-Very favorite store(s): Kohl's (style and convenience) Target (variety and convenience) Ross (if I have time to pick through the junk)
W-Worst habit: Saying "Uh huh" when someone in my family says something to me, and not really hearing a word they say
X-X-ray or Ultra Sound: Had 5 baby Ultra Sounds. My first two were surprises. I definitely liked knowing better.
Y-Youthful Nickname - Lou - and Never Ever call me that...
Z-Zodiac: Taurus, although I don't believe in that stuff...

Cute Christmas Carol - I Love It!

This is one of the most original Christmas Medleys that I have ever heard. Click on the title of this post, and Enjoy... ( I am new to linking things; please be patient with me!

A Big Surprise in Tanner's Boot!

Here's a bizarre little event - This morning Tanner went to put his boots on and all of a sudden he started screaming and crying, saying there was a bug in his boot. So I grabbed it and felt around inside of it, and pulled on the liner, and out flew a yellow jacket! A huge one! The darn thing had stung him on the toe. He's fine, other than a slightly swollen toe.

So now my question is, where did it come from? It's November in north Idaho!

Twilight Movie Premier

So I have a Twilight fan in my home. Actually, several of them. One is 15, and the other is an incredibly bright 11. Well, they're both bright, but I am talking about Noelle this time. Oh, and I'm a fan, too. ( Kayla hasn't read the series, but came along because the middle of the night, when everyone else is sleeping, is a good time to get away and hang with the girls.)

Noelle started reading the series when I did, and fell madly, sweetly, and innocently in love with Edward. I'm sure the love for him surpasses even her favorite missionary crush (you know who you are-so sorry)

So when it was announced that the first showing would be at 12:01 am, November 21 (last night), she decided that she had to be there. To the midnight showing. And anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a night owl. 5:30 am is the start of my day. So of course I tried to reason with her, that it would be more fun for her if I was awake to watch it with her, and watch her swoon over Edward (for me, at least at the end of New Moon, I thought Jacob was a better choice for Bella. And the actor who portrays him is Very Cute - I know, gross! I may be old, but I'm not dead).

Anyway, any sort of reasoning didn't work, i.e., people Fall Asleep Driving that time of night, her not being able to function in school the next day, more of her friends would and could go with us, etc, etc.

So finally, while looking at her week's grade reviews in early October, and in a panic when I saw that she had one B in one of her classes that week, I offered up a bribe. If she got on the high honor roll that quarter, I would take her to the MidNight showing. Not very bright of me if I wanted to see a matinee. Of course she could get straight A's, and I knew it. She even got 2 A+'s !

So we all went last night, the four of us girls. Some friends, too, but they got stuck in another theater. And for the girls, they loved it, enough to really really hope for a sequel (and the ending is set up perfectly for one, of course. It is a Series, after all). I thought it was pretty good, too, at least the first hour and 30 minutes. But even after loading up on a giant tub of popcorn, milk duds, twizzlers, and jr mints, I still dozed off (I need to detox now). Good thing I had read the book, cause when I woke up, I still knew what was happening! And the movie is pretty true to the book. So, go and see it. If you love the books, you'll like the movie. But, I am writing this after only 4 real hours of sleep...

I gotta go back to sleep. Read this quick, cause I might delete it when I wake up.

Happy 1st Birthday Evan Thomas!

This is the most adorable birthday cake I have seen in a while.

The little toy lawnmower from gma and gpa was a big hit!

His birthday was actually over a week ago, but we waited to celebrate until his hands felt a bit better.

...some random cute pics of the grandkids

Major static attack!

"Flour doesn't taste yummy like it looks"

What's in a Name...?

The other day I was typing an email to a friend about our recent election. It was pretty lengthy, so I hit the Spell Check button. One of the words that was red lined was 'Obama'. That in itself was ironic, our President-elect's name not in the Yahoo Spell Check dictionary (not the English version, anyway). So, out of curiosity, I scrolled down the list of choices. The closest choices were: 'Asama' and 'bomb'. Take it however you may... but it kind of scares me to death...

Tommy the Tough-Guy

A week ago Sunday, Tommy put both of his hands on the Hot woodstove. He burned both palms and all 10 fingertips. He was rushed to KMC, where he stayed for 24 hours to receive care for the 2nd degree burns. I can't really put into words the horror that I felt when we heard him scream, when he must have fallen towards the stove and put out his hands to break his fall... to say that Kayla, Shawn and I were in a discussion with one of my kids, and were distracted for only a moment, doesn't excuse what happened and how terrible we all feel. All these years of kids and grandkids to never have had any of them be seriously hurt like this, and for anyone who knows us, we are paranoid parents about safety around cars, fires, woodstoves, and the like. But just to remind everyone out there, that a child can get hurt in a blink of an eye...

So sorry, baby boy.

He is a such little trooper, though, and just keeps on going...

He will need to have his hands wrapped like this, in antibiotic ointment and gauze, for about a month, but he will make a full recovery.

Analogies of the new presidency

This morning, as usual I got up early to exercise, not so much because I wanted to, but because I knew I so needed it. Because I have discovered that for me, more than any other benefit, it helps to reduce my stress levels. And this morning when I went out, there was the first snow on the hilltops. I am dreading the snow this year, after the wicked winter that ended just six short months ago. I saw the beginning signs of winter as an analogy to the new president. A dusting in the higher elevations, but with no real way to know how severe things will be. My fears are of what and how many new policies will be enacted. Will they happen quickly and brutally, like a huge cold front on the weather radar that quickly and steadily dumps a foot or two of snow? Or will they sneak up slowly, and will we waken one cold dark morning to see that the landscape of the country has been changed completely from what we had known, while we slept?

Another analogy that I saw was in the (relative) speed that I ran yesterday. It was cold and dark and rainy, and I knew I would only run one mile, because of everything else that I needed to accomplish that morning. So I started off quickly, instead of jogging my slow warm-up mile. When I checked the time, I realized that I had taken off almost 30 seconds from my previous best time. This morning, I knew I needed to do a much longer workout, since I am a stress eater and I had totally binged on brownies last night, because you and I and half of the country were stressed out watching the election results. So I decided that I needed to run 3 miles today. How could I do that and maintain the pace that I had run yesterday? And the thought came to me, that I had both lengthened my stride and quickened my pace. Pretty simple, right? But this thought reminded me of what our Prophet, President Kimball, had always admonished of us, to lengthen our stride in doing the Lord's work. Now we need to both lengthen our stride and quicken our pace. And as I prayed this morning, the thought came to me that we can still be blessed with what we need, that our family can still rise up from the huge meltdown puddle that we have landed in. We can still be blessed according to our faithfulness. That He won't forget us as individuals, even as he gives us trials and allows us to make mistakes, it strengthens us for the journey ahead. We just have to make our stride a little longer, and our pace a little quicker.

Really Great Rumor...is it True?

This morning,

I heard a really great rumor. Gas for 1.99 in town? I will go and check it out, and post it HERE if it's really true!!
:
:
:

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It's True!

Here is the proof!
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:

Even better than that, I bought gas at Costco for:

:
:
:

Can you believe it?

What are prices doing in your neck of the woods?

Woo-Hoo, How Low Can it Go??

Is this a cause for celebration, or what? In August, when the price climb halted at right around $4 a gallon, I just waited for them to rise again. By early September, when by the price had been falling consistantly, I felt some optimism mixed mostly with a big dose of reality and pessimism. Would prices go under $3 a gallon? Yes, they did!Then in October, did I dare hope they'd be at $2.50 again, or was I just completely fooling myself?

Then they did drop, and below that magic number,

And then, down some more.
I'm looking for that price to begin with a "1" again. Or is $1.99 just too much to hope for? I am Celebrating! Right along with all my fellow Rural Drivers who have to strategically plan errands, and every trip must have -at least- a dual purpose.

And then, another part of me uneasily wonders - "is this free-fall a good thing, or just another sign of a very bad economy?" Just tell me I'm crazy, that it's all good...

Spooky 2008

Here is a quick collage of our Halloween

Here are Alice in Wonderland, a Vampire Bride, Yoda, a Koala Bear

This is the one and only home that the kids trick-or-treated, our next door neighbors.

These guys win for best costumes/family

at the ward trunk-or-treat.

Drama Girls!

Boo!